Romney talks 'big business' and global 'tax havens'

8/23/12 9:58 PM EDT

Mitt Romney spoke a bit more expansively than he has in the past about "big business" and the methods they use to save money using things like "low tax havens" around the world as he talked about his plans to focus on small businesses at a fundraiser tonight.

"I'm going to champion small business. We've got to make it easier for small businesses. Big business is doing fine in many places – they get the loans they need, they can deal with all the regulation. They know how to find ways to get through the tax code, save money by putting various things in the places where there are low tax havens around the world for their businesses. But small business is getting crushed."

The phrase "doing fine" is the same one President Obama used to talk about the private sector in front of reporters a few months ago, one that's become one of the data points his opponents highlight to describe him as out of touch about what's happening in the economy.

Romney's comment here was different - he wasn't referring to all of the private sector, but to "big business," which is, empirically, doing better than smaller counterparts. He's also right that bigger businesses have an easier time navigating the system, although he used language (the tax havens reference) that Democrats have used to try to hammer him over his own private sector tenure